Women to Watch: 2008
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 | Alison BorlandRetirement Outsourcing Strategy Leader Hewitt Associates Inc. Nashville, Tenn. 35 During Alison Borland's eight-year tenure at Hewitt Associates Inc., she has helped large organizations navigate the challenges and risks associated with retirement income and postretirement welfare programs, with a focus on defined benefit and defined contribution strategy and design. She leads the strategy for the retirement outsourcing business for Hewitt. Previously, Ms. Borland co-founded and led Hewitt's U.S. Defined Contribution Consulting practice. She has played a significant role in leading Hewitt's efforts to study employee diversity and its impact on retirement saving and investing behaviors. She is spearheading a study with Ariel Investments L.L.C., sponsored by a grant by the Rockefeller Foundation, to study the savings behaviors of minorities. Ms. Borland is a member of Hewitt's Women in Leadership group, which promotes women's professional contributions while creating an environment that allows them to achieve their full potential as leaders. HOW DID YOU GET INTO THE INDUSTRY: "I started taking actuarial exams when I was in college. I was a math major. I had been pre-med. I decided to go a different way. I wasn't sure what to do. My adviser suggested I started taking actuarial exams, so I did. While I was still in school, I started working part time for a retirement consulting firm and I...went from there." THE BEST ADVICE YOU'VE EVER RECEIVED: "Nobody is going to give you want you want unless you ask for it. You can't expect others to know what you want or know what you're asking for unless you tell them directly. It doesn't sound very profound, but it leads to much less disappointment and much quicker results. Another piece of advice someone gave me was it's just as important to identify what you're not going to do as it is what you are going to do. Always keep your business and outside priorities straight. You'll always be more successful if you have your priorities in line. In other words, family always comes first." ADVICE FOR THOSE STARTING IN THE INDUSTRY: "Be extremely flexible. Look for creative new challenges. One of the characteristics of my career that I appreciate the most is that while I have only worked for two companies--so I haven't moved companies a lot--I've certainly moved roles a great deal. Seize opportunities even if they are outside your comfort zone, even if they're risky, even if they're unlike anything you've ever done before. There is tremendous experience building in that." WHAT YOU WANTED TO BE PROFESSIONALLY WHILE GROWING UP: "I wanted to be neurosurgeon and marine biologist. I was going to be one or the other. (I wanted to be a) neurosurgeon because I was always fascinated with how the brain works and how the neurological system works and being able to better understand it and help actually repair it. Marine biology came from a passion for marine life, but I basically just wanted to be scuba diving for a job. I decided that could be more of a hobby than a profession, especially when I learned marine biologists actually don't just scuba dive all the time for their job." |
 | Catherine CorrieMember of Japan Production and Marketing Team Aon Benfield London 38 Catherine Corrie is a member of Aon Benfield's London-based Japan production and marketing team. Ms. Corrie places complex, multi-billion-dollar reinsurance programs. She also has played a key role in the steady expansion of the Japan team by cultivating new customers for the reinsurance market and by working with existing ones to supply their reinsurance needs. She helps recruit and develop talent to the division, mentoring a number of junior brokers at the company and always looking for talented professionals. Ms. Corrie is one of 20 Aon Benfield employees selected to serve on the company's so-called "Footprint Group," a team established to help solve some of the fundamental strategic issues the company faces, such as employee resources, through creativity, innovation and foresight. HOW DID YOU GET INTO THE INDUSTRY: "I studied mainly math and science at school and then I went on to read Japanese at university. So I guess I was looking for a combination of a numerate sort of finance-type job, but also one that would allow me to use linguistic and cultural skills. Really importantly, particularly at that age, I just wanted a job that would give opportunities to travel. So then I got to hear about reinsurance, which was actually poorly represented in British universities at the time. I had to do my own research into individual companies. I figured out broking suited my personality more than underwriting. I chose Benfield purely because of the people I met there." THE BEST ADVICE YOU'VE EVER RECEIVED: "Tackle the toughest jobs first rather than put them off." ADVICE FOR THOSE STARTING IN THE INDUSTRY: "Try and surround yourself with a good bunch of people you can learn from. We spend so much time at work, after all." WHAT YOU WANTED TO BE PROFESSIONALLY WHILE GROWING UP: "I wanted to be and trained to be a professional singer. I had an aptitude for it. It's always rewarding to do something you feel you do well. It was pure enjoyment." |
 | Susan CrossExecutive Vp and Global Chief Actuary XL Capital Ltd. Hamilton, Bermuda 48 Susan Cross oversees all actuarial functions for XL Capital worldwide. She has served in multiple roles at XL, including senior vp and chief actuary of XL America Inc., and senior vp and chief actuarial officer of XL's reinsurance operations. Ms. Cross has served as an editor of Casualty Actuarial Society's publication "Variance." She is a fellow of the Arlington, Va.-based Casualty Actuarial Society, a member of the Washington-based American Academy of Actuaries and an associate of the Schaumburg, Ill.-based Society of Actuaries. HOW DID YOU GET INTO THE INDUSTRY: "I had a professor in college that was an actuary and I was taking basic math courses trying to decide between becoming a math teacher or possibly going on and doing advanced theoretical work in math. I decided that I liked the sound of the actuarial field because it combined what I loved to do with mathematics in a business context. When I graduated from university, I had the good fortune of having three offers of employment in the field and I ended up starting off my career working for an actuarial consulting firm doing defined benefit pension work, which isn't exactly the insurance field but (is) related. After about 2½ years in that role, I had the opportunity to move to Bermuda. It involved changing from the pension work to property casualty insurance, which was an easy kind of shift to make in that early stage in my career. It's a little bit of being in the right place at the right time and having the right people make me aware of the field." THE BEST ADVICE YOU'VE EVER RECEIVED: "For me, I think it was to get through my professional credentials, to continue with my actuarial exams, to get my fellowship and my full qualifications. Once you have a professional designation, whether it's actuarial or something legal or underwriting with a CPCU or something along those lines, it shows that level of commitment beyond coming out of university and gives you that solid foundation for your career." ADVICE FOR THOSE STARTING IN THE INDUSTRY: "While it's important to have a solid technical background, your people skills, your communication skills are just as important, if not more so. You need to be able to communicate and present yourself and your ideas in an effective way. Don't overlook the importance of that. How you interact with people is very important and will be very important to any individual's success in the industry." WHAT YOU WANTED TO BE PROFESSIONALLY WHILE GROWING UP: "A teacher. I think as I was going through high school, I really valued the good teachers I had, particularly in math where they made it really interesting. Even as I was getting older and recognizing math wasn't necessarily a field for girls to get into, I thought I might like to help change that." |
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